Will GreenwaldTablo Over-the-Air HDTV DVRThe Tablo Over-the-Air DVR lets you record broadcast television to a hard drive and play it with your mobile device or compatible media hub, but you can't hook it up to your HDTV.

Can record high-definition over-the-air television broadcasts. Interface organizes by both popular shows and a conventional grid.

Cons

No video output. No on-board storage. No QAM cable support.

Bottom Line

The Tablo Over-the-Air DVR lets you record broadcast television to a hard drive and play it with your mobile device or compatible media hub, but you can't hook it up to your HDTV.

Cable and satellite don't have to be your only sources of live, recordable television. Even though broadcasts have switched to digital, you can still get over-the-air (OTA) programming for free—all you need is a compatible television and a solid antenna. The good news is that you can get sharp, crisp high-definition television easily. The bad news is that recording it is a bit of a pain. Tablo tries to fix that with its new digital video recorder, which is available in a $219.99, two-tuner version, or a $299.99, four-tuner version; we tested the two-tuner model. The Tablo can record anything broadcast over the air, and then stream it to a computer, mobile device, or compatible media hub. It's a fine concept for getting around a cable or satellite subscription, and you can even stream video over an Internet connection, but you'll still need to pay a subscription (in this case, just $5 per month) for the program guide features.

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It doesn't work with cable or satellite at all, though. If you want DVR features without using your subscription television provider's own box you can see if you can hook up a TiVo Roamio Plus or Pro box to your set-top box. TiVo's system is far longer established and robust, and works with OTA broadcasts as well, but the DVRs capable of out-of-home streaming are much more expensive and the required subscription plan costs three times as much as the Tablo's.

Design and SetupThe Tablo is a small black box measuring 1.3 by 6.8 by 4.5 inches (HWD) and weighing 13.3 ounces, about the size of the Dish Network Joey (which offers a slightly similar service in a vastly different situation). The Tablo logo is etched on both the front and top panels, with a single indicator light bar on the lower edge of the front panel. The back panel holds the power port, two USB ports, the RF connector for the antenna, and an Ethernet port. While the box has just one antenna connection, it has two built-in tuners, and can stream or record live television from two sources simultaneously.

You'll notice the Tablo doesn't have an HDMI port, or any sort of video output. That's because while it's a DVR, it isn't intended to connect directly to your HDTV. This isn't a major problem if you have a Google Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku Streaming Stick, or other media streamer, or if you want to just watch television on your computer or mobile device. A direct HDTV connection would have been nice, however. The lack of any on-screen interface leads to some irritating complications and limitations when setting up the Tablo. Without any visual interface or controls, you need to run an Ethernet cable to your router, use WPS if your router supports it, or go through a slightly clunky app-based setup process similar to configuring an AirPlay speaker.

The Tablo also lacks any onboard storage, hence the two USB ports. You can connect a hard drive to the device to add as much DVR space as you want. I tested the Tablo with a 500GB USB hard drive, and had no issues plugging it in and forgetting about it. Tablo uses up 2 to 4 GB of space per hour of high-definition recorded television, depending on the setting. You also need to plug in an antenna, which isn't included. Digital OTA antennae typically cost at least $20, and can reach about $80 online.

FeaturesOnce you're all set up, the Tablo scans the airwaves for any channels it can pick up through the connected antenna, and then adds the selection to its database. Whether you use the Web portal on a computer or Tablo's free iOS or Android apps, the DVR displays shows and movies with large, colorful icons and helpful information by default. You can switch to a more conventional program grid with the Live TV option, which is the best way to watch live television since every other view focuses on offering as many DVR options as possible. The non-grid view is handy for planning what you want to watch and browsing what's available, but the grid offers a more direct, immediate look at what's on the air. And, depending on the model of Tablo you purchase, you can watch or record two to four channels at once.

The program guide isn't free, however. Tablo comes with one month of electronic program guide (EPG) service that displays the next two weeks of programming, but after that you need to subscribe for $4.99 per month, $49.99 per year, or $149.99 for a lifetime membership.

Because Tablo only handles over-the-air broadcasts (it doesn't currently support ClearQAM cable), reception is very important. The menu systems on the mobile and Web apps display the signal strength of each scanned channel in the form of colored dots, but I found that's not always quite enough to tell if the signal is really strong. If you have plenty of room and can successfully set up Wi-Fi with the Tablo, this isn't much of an issue. If you need a wired connection to your router and live in an apartment where reception sweet spots are rare, you might have difficulties. Out of the eight channels the Tablo picked up in my apartment in Brooklyn, New York, I could only get a reliable signal for two of them: the standard definition WNYW and the high-definition WWOR. For over-the-air television, geography and antenna placement is vital.

Watching Your RecordingsYou can watch live television or any of your recordings in your home, on any compatible device connected to the same network. The Web portal and iOS and Android apps are useful, and Chromecast, Apple TV, and Roku offer ways to watch on your actual television (even if, in the case of Apple TV, you need to simply mirror the screen from your iPad over AirPlay).

You can also watch your recordings away from home by setting up the Tablo Connect feature on the DVR. With Tablo Connect enabled, once your mobile device connects to Tablo through a local network, it will be paired and able to connect through an Internet connection. Like all place-shifting devices (such as the Dish Network Hopper with Sling and the Sling Media Slingbox), setting it up can be a little tricky. Depending on your Internet connection and router it might work automatically, but if not, you'll have to manually set up port forwarding.

ConclusionThe Tablo Digital Video Recorder does exactly what it claims to do. Its OTA limitation and lack of a video output are inconvenient but forgivable, and fairly standard for this type of device. It has its uses, but depending on what you watch, you might be better served by a simple OTA antenna for watching live television on your HDTV and a Hulu Plus/Netflix/Amazon Prime subscription for catching most major shows after they air. If you have cable or satellite service, you can't use Tablo. But it's useful if you need to record local programming and can't (or won't) get cable or satellite. Still, you can get much more by paying for a subscription-based television service through cable or satellite, although it's significantly more expensive.

About the Author

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert... See Full Bio

Tablo Over-the-Air HDTV DVR

Tablo Over-the-Air HDTV DVR

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